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Joy Behar Page
Interview with Bill Maher; "Growing Pains" Actor Missing
Aired February 23, 2010 - 21:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
JOY BEHAR, HOST: Tonight on THE JOY BEHAR SHOW, he has too much heart to be a Republican and too much spine to be a Democrat. So instead, he`s a comedian. The star of HBO`s "Real Time with Bill Maher" joins me.
Then questions abound on "The Bachelor". Will Jake choose Vienna or Tenley? Host Chris Harrison joins me and maybe he will then tell me who the hell these people are?
And Jay Leno is back behind "The Tonight Show" desk next week, finally. One of his first guests will be Sarah Palin.
That and more right now.
Whether he`s talking terrorists, TEA Parties or the two Americas and why some people think President Obama wasn`t born in either one of them, he is always controversial. He`s Bill Maher, host of "Real Time" and his new stand up special called "Bill Maher, but I`m Not Wrong" is now on HBO. Hi Bill.
BILL MAHER, HBO HOST, "REAL TIME": Hey Joy. How are you doing?
BEHAR: I`m doing good. You know I was watching your show on Friday and saw that you talked to Seth McFarlane, who got Sarah Palin really ticked of last week when he introduced a character with Down`s syndrome. Let`s just watch it and then we can talk about it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You`re going to be this rude all evening. You haven`t asked me anything about myself.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, sorry. So what do your parents do?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That`s better. My dad is an accountant and my mom is the former governor of Alaska.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, that`s cool.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It`s real cool.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BEHAR: She`s a great character, very assertive and sort of funny but Sarah is mad at that. Is she always mad at something? Is that the issue with her?
MAHER: That`s for sure. She`s the queen of fake outrage. Remember she had that feud with Letterman. I`m sure this is not the last feud we will see her involved in.
It`s all she really has, you know, is to sort of foment anger. She doesn`t obviously have a lot going on upstairs and doesn`t have a lot policy-wise. So she has to pick on something and make a big fight about it. But I thought it was great, that, you know, Seth made the point as you just did that this was not a character that feels sorry for herself.
BEHAR: Right. And she takes on the kind of the guy narcissism, the kind of guy that doesn`t ever ask you about yourself on a date, which is very feminist, I thought.
MAHER: Right. Yes, and you know I think it was also important that we were making the point that although obviously some people are dealt a rough hand in life, if they are born with, you know, a mental disability, this brouhaha that started with Rahm Emanuel about saying the word "retarded" -- and I don`t know if you`ve ever said it and gotten in trouble with people -- I certainly have and they object.
But as sympathetic as we might be to certain people, this is a word that I`m saying that America in their vernacular has voted that they need. People just say it. That`s why Rahm Emanuel used that word. He said this is retarded. People just use this word.
And language is alive. Ask William Shakespeare. You know, most of his words don`t exist anymore that he used because language is always changing. It adapts.
And people just need this word; ironically they need this word because America is so stupid because of people like Sarah Palin. We need this word to -- we constantly need this word "retarded" to describe what is going on in America. No other word fits.
BEHAR: It`s true. It is a great word in many ways but there`s sort of a political correctness going on, on both sides right now.
You can`t even say, "That is so gay". People don`t like to hear that either now. It`s a description of some kind of behavior. So I don`t know. I`m sort of torn about using the word right now, to tell you the truth. You can`t even say the Jersey Shore is retarded.
MAHER: And yet it is. But I think what is always important to remember is that people who are objecting to the use of the word are very rarely the people who apparently were worried about being insulted by the word or be hurt if they heard it. I don`t think -- as Seth mentioned on the show -- we don`t use that word to people who have mental problems. We use it in other context.
And the only way that the people who would be insulted by it are insulted by it, it`s when other people make a big brouhaha about it. The same ways as -- remember Don Imus got thrown off the radio because he said something about nappy-headed hoes? Ok, it was an unfortunate comment but he was talking about 19-year-old black girls.
I promise you, none of them had ever even heard of Don Imus. They would not have been hurt by this unless other people made a thing about it because they never would have heard it.
BEHAR: Yes, it`s kind of a -- it`s very fascistic in certain ways. I know what you`re saying. But, you know, let`s just get back to Sarah for a second. Because we had Evan Bayh on "The View" the other day and I said to him after he told me this baloney story about how he was leaving because he can serve the country outside of the Senate, that he reminded me of Sarah Palin.
She did the same thing, didn`t she? She quit in the middle of the governorship and she decided she`s going to help the country on the outside. I`m annoyed with him. Are you?
MAHER: I tore him -- and I did see him on your show, yes. I tore him a new one all over CNN last week on Larry King and then I think it was on Anderson Cooper the same night and they both asked me about Evan Bayh and I said, this guy is what is wrong with the Democratic Party, first of all, and the country in general. If you want to know why this country is in paralysis, if you want to know why nothing gets done, it`s because centrist Democrats -- at least that`s what the media calls them, centrists, I would call them corporatist Democrats -- are the ones who side with the Republican block to stop progress.
And if you look at Evan Bayh`s record, he did that over and over again. You know, his wife is a lobbyist for the giant health insurance firm WellPoint. Well, what a surprise, he`s not for the public option. These kind of Democrats -- yes, go ahead.
BEHAR: I guess he`ll be going back to be a lobbyist. I think I head that on your show.
Ok. Sit tight. We`ll be back in 60 seconds with more from Bill Maher.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MAHER: They have nobody for next time. Who are they going to run? Sarah Palin reading off her hands; did you see that? She wrote tax cuts on her hand. A Republican so stupid she has to be reminded of the one thing - - tax cuts?
This is like if you saw the coyote`s paw and it said "road runner".
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BEHAR: That`s a clip from the new Bill Maher special, "But I`m Not Wrong". I`m back with Bill Maher.
Let`s talk about something more serious for a minute. Let`s talk about this guy, Joseph Stack, this guy who deliberately flew his plane into an IRS building this week. I found it interesting that Scott Brown and this other guy, Steven King, a representative -- I don`t know where he`s from. They seem to have empathy with the guy.
You know that he`s ticked off about his taxes and big government and everything else. And they are not really getting enough flak for empathizing with this guy, who obviously to me -- I mean anybody who flies a plane into a building is a terrorist.
I remember back in the day when you got fired for making some kind of a statement that was misconstrued as sympathetic to terrorists. Do you remember?
MAHER: Yes.
BEHAR: My question is, should they be fired?
MAHER: I`m never for firing anyone for expressing themselves. That`s not what we`re supposed to be doing in America. That`s what happened to me back in 2002 or -- that`s when we actually left the air for saying, you know, which was, you know, at the time very controversial but literally a few months it didn`t seem very controversial for me to just be saying, that if you stuck with the suicide mission, that wasn`t really cowardly.
It was not -- there was not a moral dimension attributed to this.
As far as this idiot who flew into a building, you know, he`s got a beef. Obviously his methods were wrong. I know this country is not great at doing nuance. But sometimes people who have horrible methods or have a screw loose and take them to ridiculous extremes, if you read their manifesto, the Unabomber comes to mind.
BEHAR: Right.
MAHER: You would realize that if it wasn`t, you know, from somebody who took it to the extreme, the actual gripe itself might have kernel of truth into it.
BEHAR: Well, I guess then, that`s what they were going for. You know, speaking of screws loose, among the people who spoke at the CPAC Convention this past week -- and were you invited, by the way?
MAHER: Yes, I always go to the CPAC Convention.
BEHAR: Yes.
MAHER: Oh, my gosh, it`s a load of fun. You get together with a bunch of awkward nerds from the Republican Party, you can guarantee a party.
BEHAR: It`s a barrel of laughs.
Well, Glenn Beck was the keynote speaker. Let`s listen to what he said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GLENN BECK, FOX NEWS CONSERVATIVE HOST: Progressivism is the cancer in America and it is eating our Constitution and it was designed to eat the Constitution to progress past the Constitution.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BEHAR: I like how he`s present himself as a teacher of some sort. What is he talking about, progressivism is a cancer?
MAHER: Well, it`s a very unfortunate analogy because, you know obviously, cancer is something that goes wrong with your health and health care is the big issue -- and you know this whole convention is just Republicans getting up there and living in a fantasy world.
I heard Dick Armey and probably among others, who said, "We have the greatest health care system in the world." You know, I don`t know what world they are living in but it`s not in reality. And they -- I don`t, do Republicans any more have anything to say that`s really contributing to the benefit of this country or are they just saying things that make their right-wing crazy base, which really is the whole party now -- cheer?
BEHAR: There`s music.
MAHER: I feel like I`m on an award show and I`m being played off. I`m sorry. I`d also like to thank my mom.
BEHAR: No but you`re coming back, so don`t go away. We`ll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MAHER: We caught three very high-value terrorist in the last week. Obama doesn`t brag about it. If that was Bush, he`d be on the aircraft carrier, he`d be spiking the ball, he`d be screaming "freedom" like the guy from Braveheart. I mean, how come -- how come the white president was all gangster about bragging (EXPLETIVE DELETED) and the white -- and the black president has a stiff upper lip. I don`t understand this. Why can`t they sell their stuff?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BEHAR: I`m back with Bill Maher.
You know, Bill, Dick Cheney is having, he`s had his fifth heart attack today. And it`s a funny thing -- it`s a funny thing about him. I mean, the most reasonable people are like, really? They don`t even care. Or I just find it interesting that he doesn`t get any sympathy from people around -- around me any way.
MAHER: Well, he`s a robot the Soviets made in the 1970s you know --
BEHAR: That`s true. That`s probably why.
All right, let`s talk about health care for a second. I feel a little bit snookered (ph) because there is public option in this bill that`s coming up. And so what are we really --
MAHER: Right.
BEHAR: -- what are we really going to get? It seems like we`re getting -- we`re getting nothing. If we get even --
MAHER: That --
BEHAR: -- even that, we might not even get nothing. We may get beyond nothing.
MAHER: I don`t know if that`s true. I mean, it does cover 30 million people who are not covered. It does mandate that the insurance companies can`t throw you off the rolls for no reason or not cover you for a pre- existing condition. Those are some pretty big things.
BEHAR: Yes.
MAHER: I do share your concern that without a public option, maybe this is not very economically feasible. I don`t know if it`s going to reduce costs.
But it`s interesting, you know, you were asking me about the Republicans and CPAC a minute ago. I mean, their proposal and I guess, this is what will come out Thursday with Obama when he meets with them, is absolutely ridiculous. I mean, they are for the part about the government insuring the 30 million people who don`t have it but they are not for the part where everybody is mandated to join up.
And of course, you can`t have one without the other. You have to have everyone join in the pool or else the thing is not economically feasible.
BEHAR: Right, they keep saying -- the left says that you have to have all of that for it to be economically feasible and the right keeps saying we can`t afford it. It`s kind of a strange conversation --
MAHER: Well, again --
BEHAR: -- that goes on.
MAHER: -- they live in this fantasy world where you can have the one without the other. You can`t have new people being covered without mandating that all the healthy people, the people who are probably not with insurance right now, join in the pool otherwise, the rates will just skyrocket.
And when Obama keeps saying -- and apparently nobody is listening -- when he keeps saying that, "Yes, I am working on the economy. You`re all telling me to work on the economy when I`m working on health care." Because the health care is the big problem with the economy, it`s about 18 percent of the economy; in ten years it`s going to be 30 percent.
So if we don`t solve this problem, our economic problems are going to get even worse.
BEHAR: So now, let me ask you something about Dick Cheney`s comment that Obama will be a one-term president. Do you agree with that?
MAHER: Well, it`s too early to tell. I mean, if the Democrats get this and they must get this, this is their brand to do something for the public, some sort of social progress. And they are close and I think they will.
If he achieves this and if the economy can come back to a point where it`s less than the unemployment that it is now, I don`t think he`ll be a one-term president but what I objected to was Obama saying himself recently that he didn`t mind being a one-term president --
BEHAR: Yes.
MAHER: -- he`s rather be a really good one-term president than a lame two-term president but that only makes sense if he is doing something bold. He`s not acting boldly enough. Yes, if he was really bold, then I would say, yes, what a great way to go down as a one-term president. But let`s see some of that first before you make that talk.
BEHAR: Also, just FYI, there`s never been a great one-term president.
MAHER: Probably not.
BEHAR: Ok.
MAHER: That`s true.
BEHAR: I have -- let me ask you a couple of Twitter questions before we go. Just, you know, off the top of their heads. Do you really smoke as much pot as you claim? Someone would like to know.
MAHER: When did I ever claim I smoked a lot of pot? I made jokes about smoking pot. I never said how much I did or didn`t.
BEHAR: Ok.
MAHER: You know, I was never -- I always believed drugs work best when you use them sparingly. When you use them a lot, the human body always gets used to whatever you`re put into it and then you need more and more and more. So my advice, kids, use you`re drugs sparingly.
BEHAR: Ok, someone else wants to know, are you enjoying the Olympics in Vancouver?
MAHER: Oh, my gosh -- the Olympics. I tell you, there`s nothing like the Olympics, especially the Winter Olympics. Wait, there is something like it; Cirque du Soleil.
BEHAR: Ok, here`s a question that I saw in the "Enquirer", this little piece that you were dating Arianna Huffington. True or not true? Look there you are.
MAHER: You know what? Actually if you -- you`re right. There`s a picture of me and Arianna so we must be dating.
As you know, there`s nobody I love more than Arianna Huffington but I have a girlfriend and she is not my girlfriend. If you go to Gossip Cop, there`s a site called Gossip Cop -- pretty good. They actually correct the stuff that the other gossip rags get wrong. So they corrected that.
BEHAR: That`s wonderful. Anyway, thanks, Bill, for doing this. I really appreciate it.
MAHER: Always a pleasure. Love your show, love you.
BEHAR: His new standup -- thank you.
His new stand up special, "Bill Maher, But I`m Not Wrong" can be seen on HBO all month.
Up next, an actor goes missing in Vancouver. I`ll have the latest on the search.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANDREW KOENIG, ACTOR: I`ve been thinking about making some big, big changes in my life. Don`t you ever feel that just getting by is getting old? I guess not.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BEHAR: The search is on for actor Andrew Koenig, best known for playing Kirk Cameron`s side kick on the `80s sit-com "Growing Pains". He was last seen on Valentine`s Day in Vancouver and reported missing after he failed to board a flight home to L.A.
Joining me is Mike Walters, assignment manager for TMZ. Mike, what is the latest on this story?
MIKE WALTERS, ASSIGNMENT MANAGER, TMZ: Well, basically, Joy, there`s been several sightings near Vancouver. The Vancouver police are following up on all of these leads. They`re trying to figure out if it is or isn`t him. They tell us that they are looking for a living person which is a little bit of a relief for the parents obviously because the way the police are going at it, they are looking to see all the leads of their actual people walking around.
Now, we`re told the parents, including Walter his father who is very famous, they are flying up to Vancouver to meet with the police so that they can go over exactly what they have. We`re told that Andrew actually sent a letter to his parents that was real kind of one of those situations where possibly the depression which we`re told he suffered from was kind of catching up to him. So they`re really worried about that.
They are going to go meet with the police and figure out what they can do to help.
BEHAR: Well, they say that he cleaned out his apartment in Venice, in California, and --
WALTERS: Right.
BEHAR: He turned down work and returned a lot of his belongings. Do you think this was preplanned?
WALTERS: Yes. We were told by one of his friends that they went by the apartment. Apparently he cleaned out his apartment in Venice and he told several other people that he was moving to Vancouver, that he didn`t want to work anymore, that he was done with Hollywood and this area of Los Angeles and he was going to move to Vancouver.
Interestingly enough, he found Vancouver to be really a place that he liked to be. He was there doing 21 Jump Street way back in the day doing a scene and he really loved the area. We were told that he wanted to move up there and that`s possible why he went there.
He was supposed to fly back on the 16th. He never made his flight back to Los Angeles. That`s when the parents started getting worried. The last ATM text and other communication with him stopped on February 16th also. The last time he was seen physically was on Valentine`s Day at a bakery in Vancouver.
So they`re just trying to work all the leads. His dad set up a Web site under his name. You can see some of the leads that they have going and send in your support and also send in any tips to the Vancouver police or his family.
BEHAR: It`s a little bit busy in Vancouver right now. There`s increased security for the Olympics. Do you think that that`s distracting the police from finding him or looking for him? What do you think?
WALTERS: Well, yes, that`s a good point. That`s a great point. I mean, they even said in one of their press releases that they`ve kind of exhausted their troops into the search. And I think you`re probably right. I mean the area is really busy. They don`t have very many people to focus on something like this.
You know, there is one press release I really -- when I looked at and thought, the Vancouver police have said, he might just be somewhere where he wants to spend time alone. His family doesn`t want the public to respond to that. But that`s exactly what the police are thinking, is, look, he could not have necessarily gone somewhere. He could have just gone somewhere to be alone.
So they are kind of pulling up on those leads also but we`ll have to see hopefully his parents can add some insight to the cops to help find him.
BEHAR: Well, we`ll hope for the best. Thanks Mike. As always, very good.
Up next, the "Jersey Shore" cast stops by my other show today. I`ll have all the juicy details after this break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BEHAR: The MTV show, the Jersey Shore is heading to a new warmer location to tape their second season. Just what the culture needed. The show that makes growing up gaudy look like I Claudius. Here now to discuss this and other news, are actor comedian Hal Sparks. TV and radio personality for WBLS New York City, Egypt Sherrod. Sherrod?
EGYPT SHERROD, WBLS NEW YORK CITY: Sherrod. Thank you.
BEHAR: Sorry and celebrity stylist extraordinaire and a host of the "Robin Birdie" show on Logo, Robert Verdi. Now the cast of "Jersey Shore" stopped by "The View" today and gave me a nickname. Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I was sitting back stage and I did hear some of Joy`s opinions so I`m going to go with the assumption.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The assumption. Do you like that?
BEHAR: It`s like the girl of virgin Mary, the assumption. Remember.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BEHAR: You know from now on I would like you to refer to me as the assumption?
SHERROD: I would figure you more as the--
(CROSSTALK)
ROBERT VERDI, CELEBRITY STYLIST: Or the conclusion.
(LAUGHTER)
VERDI: I would have thought more of the conclusion.
BEHAR: Better than the conniption.
VERDI: Yes, totally.
BEHAR: Okay. Now what do you think about this show?
VERDI: I`m from Jersey. I`m totally offended.
BEHAR: You are why? You`re not Italian, what do you have to be offended for?
VERDI: No, because I think - I think it poorly represents - I think everything poorly represents Jersey, actually - it`s a garden city.
SHERROD: Excuse me? Wait a minute. I pay taxes.
VERDI: Except for you. Except for you and me. And me. I think it`s a beautiful state and I think it is poorly represented when you put characters on the screen.
HAL SPARKS, ACTOR: I think it is when you put the word Shore is what gives it a little bit of room. Because the Shore is known for this kind of behavior whatever. And I think - I think it is kind of that they sort of cut out the stupid parts and only show you the best of these people.
(LAUGHTER)
BEHAR: Hey what you know Bruce Springsteen is from Jersey Shore.
SPARKS: Right.
BEHAR: Is from Asbury Park and all of that.
SPARKS: Absolutely.
BEHAR: He elevates the state a lot.
SPARKS: He`s a better situation.
BEHAR: Oh yes.
SPARKS: You would recall -
BEHAR: The situation by the way turns out to be the mentor member of the group.
VERDI: I read -
BEHAR: He`s the smartest one.
VERDI: Did you do air quote -- you are supposed to do air quotes when do you that - that`s legally meant for them.
SHERROD: Let me show - any show that is going to have a someone named Snookie on it - you know it`s going to be scandalous.
BEHAR: Yes.
VERDI: Snookie -
SHERROD: It is a train wreck that you have to watch.
VERDI: Snookie is a cross between snuggie and a cook. And it sounds like you have crumbs on a blanket.
SHERROD: Would that be an official answer - beep.
SPARKS: I - I think that is an act combination for her name.
VERDI: And the situation sounds like something that the doctor tells you when you are I his office.
SPARKS: Exactly.
(CROSSTALK)
BEHAR: The situation -
SPARKS: Yes, the Jersey Shore exactly, right.
BEHAR: Right. Now, wait a minute. What about Snookie`s hair? You are the stylist.
VERDI: Oh god, yes, what about?
BEHAR: What does she have up there? Does she have like a pulleys testical --
VERDI: Like a bump it -
SHERROD: Oh my god.
(LAUGHTER)
BEHAR: What is up there?
VERDI: She`s got one of those bump things that they sell on an infomercial. You know barred under her head. But I don`t know necessarily that it`s no actually sort of a party purse. You know what I mean because Jersey Shore girls actually -- you can click it up and that`s where they hide their I.D., one credit card and whatever drug they need for the evening and they - and click it back there.
BEHAR: You know that Vera Wang, the great designer, she has adopted that hair due, her models are now wearing a Snookie. Yes.
SHERROD: That picture you just showed looks like a picture of me from fifth grade, the one that you never want to come back that everybody is circulating on Facebook.
VERDI: She`s trying to look taller, that`s what that`s about.
BEHAR: She`s very short.
VERID: She`s really short.
SPARKS: I can`t blame her for that. I`d spike my hair for the very same reason.
VERDI: She`s on little people real hair styles, which is a TLC show about midgets with high hair.
BEHAR: Midgets is not the appropriate term anymore.
VERDI: I know, what is suppose to be?
BEHAR: Little people.
VERDI: That`s what I said little people big hair.
BEHAR: I did get into serious question during "The View" interview.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BEHAR: What`s your 20-year plan?
MIKE OF JERSEY SHORE: After doing one or two more years of reality, if, that then I`ll move on to possibly acting and if that works, I`ll try that. If it doesn`t work out, then hey, I tried it out, I shot for the stars. If you hit the moon you`re still okay.
BEHAR: Okay then what is plan b?
MIKE: Plan b is --
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BEHAR: I guess the alphabet is pretty rough.
SPARKS: Yes, insofar as 20-year plans, I think they need to find puck from the real world and ask him about 20-year realities.
BEHAR: What do you think they will do when the series is over, really? And they don`t care.
(CROSSTALK)
VERDI: And they are all trying -
SPARKS: Dirty.
BEHAR: Wait one at a time, go ahead Robert.
VERDI: I said they are all trying to trademark their names. They are trying to actually get products behind them, the situation wants to do a cologne in the line of underwear and I don`t know what Snookie wants.
BEHAR: May -
SHERROD: Snookie is going to come out with her own line of hairspray.
VERDI: But they would all be - don`t you think they are like Spencer`s gifts. They`re not like -
SPARKS: Yes exactly.
VERDI: Really retail.
SPARKS: Yes like Aussie (ph) belt buckles as opposed to -
VERDI: Yes.
SHERROD: They will throw parties and they are going to get naked in swimming pools like what we just saw and try to make a couple of dollars. That`s what they`re going to do after this show.
VERDI: Yes.
BEHAR: I asked Snookie off the air what she`s going to do and she told me she wants to be a veterinarian. Now don`t you have to go to medical school for that?
SPARKS: You got to go to school, yes.
BEHAR: What planet are these people on?
SHERROD: You keep sharpening -
(CROSSTALK)
VERDI: She might - dog groomer, and do their hair like -
BEHAR: Now that is smart, veterinarian no, dog groomer, yes. That`s more in the realm of possibility.
Okay let`s change the subject Jay Leno will be reclaiming The Tonight Show next week and one of the first guests will be former Alaska Governor, Sarah Palin. What do you think about that booking?
VERDI: I`m completely offended. Because she`s from New Jersey. She can see New Jersey from her house.
SPARKS: Right, no.
BEHAR: Do you think he`s going to get a rating Hal?
SPARKS: He will absolutely get a rating bump. He would do that even if she wasn`t on the show, which is kind of the sort of lamer part of it. Just because he`s coming back he`s going to get a pop. But bring her on arguably she`s a mild pop star at this point. She`s certainly not a politician any more.
BEHAR: No.
SPARKS: So the idea that she`s having her on is more for like that cross crowd. He can grab this crowd that would never be interested and the people who are like I wonder what he`s going to be like when he goes back to --
BEHAR: What do you think Egypt?
SHERROD: He`s purposely doing it because everyone knows there`s a war of the words between Letterman and Palin.
SPARKS: Right.
SHERROD: And this is a way for him to get ratings. But if she really wanted to hurt Letterman, she`d go on Letterman.
BEHAR: Why? What do you mean?
SHERROD: Because she`s a train wreck. Isn`t this the show for opinions?
VERDI: Right.
SHERROD: No holds barred.
BEHAR: Go for it. Go for it.
(LAUGHTER)
BEHAR: Do you think she`s doing Leno to really hurt Letterman? Is that what it is?
SPARKS: But I think giving the Letterman the best jokes though. I think by her going on Leno, it just gives more ammo, here is two people in sort of a suspect way quit a particular job and moved to a better job and now want it back.
VERDI: If she were really smart, she`d go on Jersey Shore because she would look right and Snookie could do her hair for her appearance in Leno.
BEHAR: Now there is an idea. Now also, Bristol Palin in related news, will be making her acting debut. She`ll be appearing on the ABC family series, "The Secret Life Of The American Teenager." She`s playing herself we think she`s playing herself.
SHERROD: Wait a minute, how can you act and play yourself?
VERDI: Playing?
BEHAR: Well she - we think she is playing Bristol Palin.
VERDI: Wouldn`t that be on "16 and Pregnant" on MTV?
SPARKS: Yes, right.
BEHAR: Well if she`s going to talk about abstinence and show up there, it`s ridiculous.
(CROSSTALK)
VERDI: She`s never abstinence.
SHERROD: But is it (UNINTELLIGIBLE) or reality.
BEHAR: As I said many times, the moose is out of the barn.
VERDI: She makes it in school on time every day.
BEHAR: This is -- I don`t know. What is this? "The Secret Life Of The American Teenager?
SHERROD: Have you seen it?
BEHAR: I don`t even know what it is.
(CROSSTALK)
BEHAR: No, here it is, the episode will deal with the consequences of teen pregnancy.
VERDI: Of course -
SHERROD: But it`s a scripted show, right?
BEHAR: I guess so. Is this all the girl knows how to discuss is teen pregnancy?
SPARKS: I don`t know how she became the spokes person for it. The irony is like -- it`s like Sarah Palin wearing a winner never quits kind of shirt. You know like there is an element -like she`s the last person you should ask about this particular thing. And if she does answer honestly, like don`t get pregnant with your teenager, it just sounds horrible because she`s got a child.
BEHAR: I know.
SPARKS: This was a mistake, we should have named him mistake. It is very weird.
SHERROD: I know but if Levi can make his money off of it, why can`t she make her money off of it?
SPARKS: She`s not selling - he`s not walking around selling abstinence, you know.
BEHAR: No, he`s selling himself.
SPARKS: Right that`s fine, I mean he`s taking popularity -
BEHAR: She`s selling abstinence, he`s selling abs.
SPARKS: Yes, right.
BEHAR: Okay Lindsey Lohan recently --
SHERROD: I`ll buy one.
BEHAR: Admitted to using cocaine, into being in rehab there times. She also said she came close to killing herself through a mix of alcohol and cocaine.
VERDI: I`m completely offended.
(CROSSTALK)
BEHAR: This girl -
SHERROD: You are offended by everything, did you notice that?
BEHAR: She`s not from New Jersey but she sounds like she`s in a lot of trouble, this girl.
SHERROD: You know what, here`s what bothers me the most. She said it`s okay to go to alcohol. Number one she`s admitted to -
BEHAR: Yes.
SHERROD: Going to rehab not once, not twice, maybe three times or so. But it`s okay to drink.
BEHAR: Yes three times.
SHERROD: Yes but it`s okay to drink. I mean I think if you ask anybody I`m sure it has to be a statistic somewhere.
VERDI: It`s not the (UNINTELLIGIBLE) that she is honoring for sure.
SHERROD: Yes and if you do drugs you` are more likely to get addicted alcohol. Is this really smart?
SPARKS: Yes and there`s also - yes, it`s a lifestyle element right now. Anybody who has an addiction issue needs to remove themselves from that space and she was saying even in that line where she said, you know alcohol is fine, one drink once in a while, she also said that it`s not good to party that hard. But that hard part is the wrong part of that sentence. She does need to --
VERDI: I heard -- border.
SPARKS: Her problem was prescription meds. The unspoken story it`s prescription meds.
SHERROD: Prescription meds.
SPARKS: Prescription meds, the darkest parts of Hollywood drug problem right now.
BEHAR: Okay, okay. Thank you very much, all of you, for participating in this conversation. Don`t go away. Back to our host, Chris Harrison up next, to dish on a show`s big scandal.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHRIS HARRISON, HOST, "THE BACHELOR": I see one day it`s about your son and the other day it`s a fabricated story and then I`m not even sure what it`s about.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What are you confused about?
HARRISON: I`m confused because the only thing that this has to do with was your inappropriate physical relationship with our producer.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What was this physical relationship? I`d like to know all about it, please.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BEHAR: ABC`s "The Bachelor" has been a ratings monster. But why do women expect to meet the man of their dreams on TV when everyone knows the only real way to find true love is over the internet.
(LAUGHTER)
BEHAR: Joining me now, Chris Harrison, host of "The Bachelor," Chris how are you?
HARRISON: Good morning Joy, good to see you again.
BEHAR: Yes.
HARRISON: Okay let me have it - why do I feel like I`m about to get punched.
BEHAR: Well I just have to say I only watched this show under duress -
HARRISON: Right.
BEHAR: And in the 14 years -- what is it, seasons --
HARRISON: 14 seasons, right.
BEHAR: One couple has actually gotten married. What are their names?
HARRISON: Right, Trista and Ryan.
BEHAR: Trista and Ryan.
But every week there`s this promise of love forever and we`re going to run in slow motion forever. It never happens.
HARRISON: Well we do have -- and we have another wedding coming up. Jason and Molly are getting married.
BEHAR: Oh, really? I`ll believe it when I see Jason and Molly down the aisle.
HARRSION: In two weeks you`re going to see it, it will be live on ABC. We`re going to show it to you. There`s -- I think it can happen. I get the skepticism, I understand.
BEHAR: Oh it`s beyond that baby.
HARRISON: I get the anger and hatred.
BEHAR: The anger and rage yes.
(LAUGHTER)
HARRISON: I sense there`s under lying issues with you we`re going to get to later over martinis.
BEHAR: Okay, okay.
HARRISON: But as far as the show goes, no, we have several successful couples right now.
BEHAR: But the women are so needy and desperate all the time. They are always begging, please love me. Give me the dam rose. I`ll do anything you want. And they are, I think, doing anything he wants.
HARRISON: I don`t know about that.
BEHAR: You know plenty. Don`t pretend you don`t know.
HARRISON: I do know. I know many things that I will take to my grave as a respectful man should. But I don`t think it`s acts of desperation. I think it goes to the -- I see that glance of yours.
(LAUGHTER)
HARRISON: No I think it goes to show you how tough it is out there. I mean I talk to these women, very talented, very beautiful, very professional women. I`m like, why are you here? And they say, do you know how bad it sucks out there, you know dating, going to bars, going to church, going to temple, whatever it is - it`s no better out there.
BEHAR: Now, if these girls are having trouble and they are implanted up the wazoo, what is a regular girl supposed to do to find a guy if these girls are complaining? I mean how bad is it really for them? Come on --
HARRISON: No I`m saying it`s not like they have a lack of dates but it`s the lack of quality. It`s trying to find a date where that you don`t want to be dropped off at the police station just for protection at the end of your date.
BEHAR: Oh baloney -
HARRISON: Trying to get a decent human being -
BEHAR: Oh come on, they are looking for a guy who has money, who is good luck looking, and who is on television. That`s what they are looking for. Yes --
HARRISON: Isn`t that the age old --
BEHAR: I mean they are not marrying the guy who takes the tolls on the jersey turnpike, these girls.
(LAUGHTER)
BEHAR: Let`s tell the truth about them. And they are so ring hungry. They must get the ring. Desperate.
HARRISON: Well it - but I think in -- I like the fact of -- that "The Bachelor" has to deal with that. This beautiful girl, is she there for the money and fame? And if she is, you have to deal with that to the side.
BEHAR: Oh and he`s not there for the fame? And maybe getting a little action during the commercial breaks?
HARRISON: Yes but that`s for we`ll be right back. After that.
BEHAR: Exactamento -- okay here`s a serious question that a Twitter wrote to me.
HARRISON: Yes, okay.
BEHAR: Why has there never been a black bachelor?
HARRISON: It`s not from lack of trying, to be honest.
BEHAR: Really?
HARRISON: I was talking to the producers and first of all it`s well above my pay grade as to who are bachelor is --
BEHAR: That`s right, you`re not the booker so it`s not your responsibility.
HARRISON: Right.
But I will say, you know, it`s funny, we have a much deeper pool of white Americans than we do -- and not just black. I mean, any minority. We have a much smaller pool of people that come to us and want to be on our show.
BEHAR: Are you telling me that blacks do not apply for the show?
HARRISON: Not nearly in the same amount of numbers as whites do.
BEHAR: Uh-huh.
And that`s because there aren`t as many in the country. There aren`t as many African-Americans as Caucasians in the country.
HARRISON: Or Latino or anything --
BEHAR: Or Asian -
HARRISON: Yes and I again, it is well above my pay grade. But I would love to see that. But people also have to understand, as you well know, that we are an entertainment show. They are going to do what is best for business and what is best for ratings and hopefully we will jump over that bridge and have somebody.
BEHAR: Now there was a little bit of a scandal, first of all this guy reality, Steve, he`s -- he had a rat on the show that applies to this website.
HARRISON: Uh huh.
BEHAR: What happened there?
HARRISON: What happen with leaks getting out this season?
BEHAR: Yes.
HARRISON: You know we have a good idea of how that happens and who that is. Self fishily, it doesn`t hurt our ratings.
BEHAR: Yes.
HARRISON: So although we try and find it, we would love to plug the leak. And I hate the fact that there is any fan out there that has stumbled upon a spoiler and it is ruined it for them in anyway.
BEHAR: You know there`s all these people that`s hanging by a thread -
HARRISON: Yes.
BEHAR: Oh who`s it going to be? Who`s going to get the rose?
HARRISON: But you are talking about -
(LAUGHTER)
BEHAR: How do I go on?
HARRISON: I sense the sarcasm. I`m getting a feeling of -- no. And spoilers get out there and I apologize for that. But there are select few obsessed people and oddly enough, very obsessed men. Because most of these guys that are obsessed with me in the show which is -
BEHAR: They are obsessed with you?
HARRISON: Turns me on in a certain way but in a way scares me.
BEHAR: Could you elaborate on that? What do you mean?
HARRISON: Well it`s like ice dancing in the Olympics with --
BEHAR: Are the men attracted to you who watch the show?
HARRISON: No. I`m just saying A lot of these bloggers and stuff are men.
BEHAR: Yes.
HARRISON: The ones dig and getting all of this stuff. And I`m like how obsessed are you with this show? Because it`s not typically our audience.
BEHAR: Wait a second, they are men who are looking at these girls, right?
HARRISON: I guess.
BEHAR: And some of them are attracted to you and the bachelor?
HARRISON: A lot of them, yes. I would assume.
BEHAR: Why do you think your ratings are so high?
HARRISON: We do, in all honesty, we have a lot of men watching the show.
BEHAR: We have two who work here, minimum.
HARRISON: I run into men and women at restaurants bars, whatever, all the time, my wife and I will be out. And it`s always the women who will say, oh we love your show and it`s the guy who spent 30 minutes asking detailed questions about the show who initially says, I don`t really watch that much but tell me about Jake and Alley and they know everything about the show.
BEHAR: Oh, really? Now -- so a lot of people -
HARRISON: You can`t even feign interest.
(LAUGHTER)
HARRISON: You can`t even pretend to care
BEHAR: I like you, though. I like you. You`re terrific.
HARRISON: You`re like being with my wife. It`s fantastic. I`m like, honey, 16 years you can`t even pretend --
BEHAR: No, no seriously I would like to know who`s going to get the rose. No I mean it, I`m serious now. Now this season, one of the women, Rosaline -
HARRISON: Yes.
BEHAR: Had an affair with the producer on the show. That was not kosher, right? What happen there?
HARRISON: That was, that was not kosher, not cool at all. And it was a very obvious line that was crossed. That`s not even a gray area. You can`t mess around with producers. And vice versa, this producer who we hired, obvious mistake, he confessed to this several times.
BEHAR: Why did you fire him?
HARRISON: Well because you can`t mess around with our contestants. It`s a you know -
BEHAR: So what happen to her?
HARRISON: I kicked her off the show as well.
BEHAR: You did.
HARRISON: Yes, I mean I explained to her, you know, you can`t be here for Jake, you can`t be here for --
BEHAR: Rosaline and Jake they may be the only couple that actually gets married on the show.
HARRISON: Well our producer, and they are still seeing each other.
BEHAR: See.
HARRISON: They are still together, yes, exactly.
BEHAR: No rose, no ring, no begging, no none of that.
HARRISON: Yes.
BEHAR: And they are still together.
HARRISON: They are still seeing each other. And I even told her, I`m not even mad at you. I don`t care. It`s not right or wrong. Who cares. You found love with this guy. Bless your heart. Go have kids with him.
BEHAR: Yes. But now he`s an unemployed producer.
HARRISON: Right so I`m sure she`s going to dump him now.
BEHAR: Now the other thing is, you`re hosting "The Red Carpet" for TV guide network on Oscar Sunday. How --
HARRISON: Something you care even more about is celebrities patting themselves on the back.
BEHAR: I was going to say who are you going to say who you are wearing?
HARRISON: I leave that up to Karry Innava (ph), my partner, my dancing partner. They are on the red carpet.
BEHAR: Oh yes.
HARRISON: We were on TV guide network and we`ve been there for all of the award seasons. And we have the Oscars coming up on March 7th. I do love it. I love live TV. My background is news and sports casting. So I do love the -- you know, just unpredictable ability of live TV. You don`t know what is going to happen. You don`t know what people are going to say. I love that.
BEHAR: Well "The Red Carpet" is more unpredictable than "The Bachelor" show in many ways.
HARRISON: True.
BEHAR: Right?
HARRISON: Yes, no I go with that.
BEHAR: The only thing that`s predictable is that they`re never going to get married.
HARRISON: True. Wait a minute. You`ve got me hating this show too, now.
BEHAR: I love you, I`m crazy about you though. Thank you for joining me, Chris.
HARRISON: Joy it`s a pleasure.
BEHAR: "The Bachelor" finale is Monday at 8:00 p.m., don`t miss it on ABC, and you can catch Chris hosting TV Guide`s network "The Red Carpet" coverage on Oscar Sunday. We`ll be back in a minute.
Where is my rose?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BEHAR: A seemingly normal family of four vanishes from their San Diego home when their car is found abandoned just two blocks from the Mexican border, a brother fears that they have been kidnapped. Joining me with the latest in this mysterious case is Jane Velez-Mitchell, host of HLN`s "Issues with Jane Velez-Mitchell." okay Jane, they have been missing since February 4th?
JANE VELEZ-MITCHELL, HOST, HLN`S "ISSUES WITH JANE VELEZ-MITCHELL": yes.
BEHAR: So what`s the latest on this case?
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Their car turned up at the Mexican border, which is a very bad sign.
BEHAR: Why?
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Well that`s a border crossing that is extremely well known for drug trafficking.
BEHAR: Uh huh.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: And the fact there have been articles recently that drug traffickers are getting bore brazen and coming up with new ways to smuggle their drugs. In furniture, and in toys across that boarder. So I think that it could be significant. Even though the police have said emphatically that there is absolutely no sign that this family engaged in any criminal activity --
BEHAR: Well, they had the kids in the car with them.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Yes.
BEHAR: What are you saying that they were carrying drugs?
VELEZ-MITCHELL: No absolutely not.
BEHAR: Okay.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: I think none of this adds up. I mean this family is a happy family, apparently no marital troubles or anything like that.
BEHAR: Right.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Having a good time at home.
BEHAR: Yes.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: And they leave - leaving their two precious dogs in the backyard without food or water, which everyone agrees they would never do. Those were like their second children and also left perishable food out. So obviously this was not a planned vacation. They left either in a hurry or they kidnapped. The brother seems to believe --
BEHAR: Right.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: That they were kidnapped.
BEHAR: Well that makes sense. Maybe they were kidnapped. But if they were kidnapped for drugs, let`s say, or some kind of -- what else could it be that they were kidnapped for?
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Well none of it makes sense to the police. It is really a total 100 percent mystery. The only thing that I can think of, and this is just ramped speculation, let`s go back to what the man`s father said.
He said that his son, who had a fountain business, he made fountains did business sometimes in Tijuana,
BEHAR: Uh huh.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: And that he had been there possibly as recently as December, and that sometimes the smaller fountains were manufactured in Mexico and shipped to him. So when I heard that the car was found at the San Ysidro border, my speculation was, and I have no proof of this whatsoever -
BEHAR: Right.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Is it perhaps unwittingly, someone is shipping him terraces and these fountains might have stuck something on toward inside those fountains and shipped them to him and then maybe came over to his house to try to get them. And, that again, there`s absolutely no proof of that but it`s something that at least I`m sure law enforcement is looking into. They are checking the border crossings by the way to see if this family of four crossed the border. They are working with the Mexican government to check the hospitals and morgues.
BEHAR: They checked the airports, they checked everything.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: They are checking it all?
BEHAR: Okay the police searched the home also, did they find anything suspicious in the house?
VELEZ-MITCHELL: No there was no sign of a confrontation or struggle. There was no ransom. Again the circumstances in the house were just bizarre. Who would leave your precious dogs without food or water. Unless somebody took you against your will, but, then again, if they were taken against their will, why wouldn`t any neighbors have noticed perhaps -
BEHAR: Well.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Somebody leading four members of a family out at gunpoint.
BEHAR: Right, right. And why did they have -- if they took them against their will, why did they have to take the children?
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Exactly.
BEHAR: That`s weird, too. But the other point is, the police were not notified until the 15th. They were gone as of the 4th.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Yes well, they left on the 4th and then about four days later their car was towed from the San Ysidro border and then eventually people started calling the brother saying, hey, we can`t reach your brother and then after a couple of days, he went into the house, broke into a window and found that, and then called the cops.
BEHAR: Okay, I got to go. That`s a very interesting story. Keep us posted on that all right?
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Yes. Thank you.
BEHAR: Okay thank you very much Jane, catch Jane Velez-Mitchell on "Issues" every night at 7:00p.m. right here on HLN. Good night, everybody.
END
